First Quantum Minerals and Hitachi Construction Machinery have commissioned the world’s first ultra-large battery electric mining truck, a fully electric Hitachi EH4000, at the Kansanshi copper-gold mine in Zambia. The truck operates without a diesel engine, using a large-format battery system and electric drive to cut on-site fuel consumption and associated CO₂ emissions. Deployment at Kansanshi provides a full-scale test bed for trolley-assist integration, high-current charging infrastructure and duty-cycle optimisation on ultra-class haul routes.

McHale Komatsu has secured an agreement to supply a large Komatsu mining fleet to Tungsten West PLC for the restart of the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon, one of the world’s largest tungsten resources. The deal supports redevelopment of the open-pit operation, which previously used large-scale truck–shovel mining and extensive waste stripping. For geotechnical and mine planners, the new fleet specification will influence haul road geometry, pit slope performance under renewed traffic loading, and scheduling for high-volume tungsten and tin ore movement.

MMD Group has acquired full intellectual property rights from Anglo American for TraxIQ, a system-level material handling solution designed to optimise truck, shovel and in-pit crushing plant interactions across mine sites. Control logic and data integration in TraxIQ coordinate loading units, conveyors and semi-mobile crushers to reduce queuing, idle time and surge bin overloads, improving utilisation of high-capex assets. For geotechnical and mine planners, wider deployment could change haul road design, crusher station siting and stockpile geometry to suit more tightly managed material flow.